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Traceability, accountability on operators’ minds at FSS event

CHARLOTTE N.C. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Until the supply process is effectively controlled and tracked, they warned, the industry remains at risk of a repeat catastrophe and the confusion that ensued. They urged the restaurant business to protect itself by insisting on accountability at each link in the supply chain, while shouldering the ultimate responsibility for guests’ safety until the system changes. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Speaker after speaker stressed the need for restaurant chains to serve as their own safety watchdogs and ensure best practices are followed from field to fork, from pond to plate. Regulators, suppliers, customs officials and other experts can be valuable allies in that effort, several noted, but operators should bear in mind that those parties have failed to be 100-percent dependable in the past. A number of presenters remarked that the theme of the conference should be: “Trust, but verify.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

One of the competencies operators should be sure to verify, symposium participants stressed, is a supplier’s ability to determine the location or path of a product at any given moment. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“Traceability is the new watch word,” said David Theno, who recently retired as chief product safety officer for San Diego-based Jack in the Box and was the keynote speaker of the event, which was presented by Nation’s Restaurant News and sponsored by Ecolab. “If there’s a problem downstream, you really have to go back and find the problem, in the factory, in the farm, in the fields.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Theno, a 30-year veteran of the food-safety community, said he’s pushed traceability at Jack in the Box to the point that if there’s a question about a particular item, “I could go back to pens of cattle. I can go back to individual hog farms.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

He added, “The biggest challenge to traceability is force of will.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“At CKE [Restaurants Inc.], we partner only with suppliers that have a thorough trace-back program in place,” said Ron Wennerberg, vice president of quality assurance for the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s parent. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“If something isn’t right, we’re not going to do business with them,” he said. In the event of a recall, “we want to know how many cases were involved, how many cases were shipped, and how many cases are within our system.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Others said they similarly wield their purchasing might to ensure suppliers meet additional quality-insurance requirements. McAlister’s Deli, for instance, drafted a standard vendors’ agreement that spelled out responsibilities, expectations and procedures that had to be followed. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“We had some boutique-style suppliers who wouldn’t do it, so they’re no longer with us,” said Angel Sanford, vice president of procurement for the Ridgeland, Miss.-based fast-casual chain. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“We’re involved in supplier education. It has to be a partnership for success,” said Ana Hooper, vice president of total quality for Red Lobster and Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants Inc. in Orlando, Fla. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Yet she was one of the presenters who invoked the “Trust, but verify” recommendation. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“We hold the supplier accountable,” Hooper said. “You can’t just be the police, [but] you can’t just be the educator, either.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

That need to demand, teach and verify was cited in particular during a panel on product recalls. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

At Compass Group North America, “I created a report card on supplier compliance,” said Linda Gilardi, vice president of quality assurance for the contract foodservice company. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“Obviously, the large suppliers, processors and distributors, I give them an ‘A,’” Gilardi said. “We have confidence in them.” Otherwise, she seemed to suggest, they wouldn’t be the multibillion-dollar company’s suppliers, processors or distributors. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Gilardi said she gives regional seafood sources and other smaller suppliers a “C” because they usually download recall information or rely on the resources of other parties for information, processes and guidance. She said she gave a “W,” for “withdraw,” to regional retailers who might have once supplied the chain with specialty items. She cited the hypothetical example of a local bakery. Chances are low that a shop of that scale that would be able to mobilize in the event of a flour recall, Gilardi said. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Using a purchasing contract as leverage is particularly important when buying fresh produce, speakers agreed. In managing the risk of food contamination, “I think we’d all agree we have a lot more control than we ever thought we would,” said Theno, who is widely credited as pushing for that accountability within the supply pipeline for beef. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“I talked to the produce guys the other day, and they said there’s not a lot of control of produce,” he said. “They’re wrong. There are some really good practices in place within the produce industry. They’re just not that widespread.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Theno also called for greater collaboration between restaurateurs and all parties interested in food safety, including advocacy and consumer groups. Such partnerships would be particularly helpful in helping to make irradiation, a process by which foods are exposed to radiant energy to kill harmful bacteria, more acceptable to consumers, he said. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of irradiation for meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables and spices, but consumers have been slow to embrace irradiated foods. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Theno and others indicated that the restaurant industry has to keep hammering for the universal adoption of strict safeguards, including traceability. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“It took a dozen years for the meat industry,” Theno said. “I hope it doesn’t take that long for the produce industry.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Kathy Means, vice president of government relations for the Produce Marketing Association, suggested that produce protections might be strengthened by government action, including regulation of growers by federal food safety watchdogs. In particular, she cited the possibility of legislation being introduced in Congress to regulate the “repacking” of produce. After a salmonella outbreak was detected in the Southwest in early June, regulators initially thought the source was tomatoes. Investigators said they were stymied in trying to identify where the suspect tomatoes might have been grown because tomato shippers often combine fruits from several areas in one crate. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

The contents might have been remixed with tomatoes from yet more areas further down the supply chain, which made it very difficult to say what specimens came from what growing areas or farms. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Means suggested that federal lawmakers might attempt to instill order and traceability into that system to avert a repeat of the spring and summer’s frustration and confusion. Eventually, after several weeks of investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were able to determine that the likely sources of the outbreak were jalapeño or serrano peppers from Mexico. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Some speakers questioned whether effective solutions could be forged by politicians and lawmakers. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“What are the two things you never want to see being made? Sausage and laws, right?” Theno said. “Well, I’ve seen sausage being made, and it’s not that bad. I think you see what I’m saying. Laws by their nature set minimum standards.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“I don’t think the government has the capability,” said CKE’s Wennerberg. “I think it’s up to industry to force traceability down to the field level.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

Steve Steingart, industry liaison and assistant chief of the Allegheny County Health Department in Pittsburgh, echoed Wennerberg’s sentiment: “Government does not have all the answers. You have all the answers.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

All attendees agreed that initiative and responsibility for food safety, in whatever form it has to take, ultimately falls on the restaurant, even if the danger lies in a farm, an overseas factory, or a local produce warehouse. —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

“Our supply chain begins as far back as we can take it, to the ponds, to the fields,” said Darden’s Hooper. “Take it as far back as you possibly can take it. You cannot build food safety into a product after you receive it.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

By then, she said, “it’s too late.” —The government’s inability this spring to find the source of a salmonella outbreak was old news by the time foodservice quality assurance experts gathered here for the third annual Food Safety Symposium, but attendees professed they could still hear the alarm ringing.

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